Schools in the United States need to retain quality teachers in order to decrease inequality and help students succeed around the country. The educational system requires systemic change in addition to individual teachers or small scale changes. In order to effectively decrease inequality within the education system, teacher retention must be improved, programs like Teach for America need to be reexamined, and social justice curriculum within elite schools needs to be increased and improved in order to more authentically inspire future leaders within education to address root causes. Below are three research pages which address the systematic changes suggested. Each research topic is briefly summarized with a link to more information, and concluded with the research summary and suggestions for further research.
Inequality in America is often discussed in respect to low achieving schools and raising standards. In this section, the author examines how elite education could help to address inequality through social justice, empathy and privilege curriculum. Many students from independent schools choose direct volunteerism or charity in order to appear as a “good citizen” rather than looking to address the root causes of inequality. Independent Schools should work to help educate their students about injustice and oppression and help give students’ skills and tools to work collaboratively to restructure education in America. “Ideally, however, their role is that of an ally with oppressed peoples rather than a patronizing or colonizing savior swooping in to aid the Other.” (Swalwell, p. 3) Programs such as Teach for America, or other service organizations that many elite students choose to participate in inevitably further the achievement gap by furthering the success of privileged elite and helping ignore the underlying structural issues of poverty and power.
Teach For America (TFA) fills urban classrooms across the United States with over 11,000 of its corps members who promise the mission of, “One day, all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education.” (__www.teachforamerica.org__) Thirty-two thousand corps members have come out of the program. Some leave after their two-year commitment and some decide that TFA really gave them the opportunity to excel as educators in some of the toughest districts in the United States. The problem with TFA and its two-year commitment is the idea that the problem is a segway for individuals “doing their time” and then leaving the teaching profession without really making much of an impact on the school.
According to Heilig & Jez (2013) TFA isn’t a terrible organization, but rather the way that Kopp retains corps members and the training she puts in place for them might not be the answer to highly qualified teachers and teaching. Heilig & Jez state that if TFA continues to be a part of the teaching profession than some improvement needs to be put into place. They suggest some key aspects that will help TFA improve such as, training that lasts longer than five weeks, a commitment of five years in the program as well as a requirement of the participants to take professional development courses throughout their commitment. Heilig & Jez also conclude that when schools are hiring, TFA members sho uld be considered for positions when the pool of candidates is less qualified than the corps members.
TFA could potentially have stronger impacts in education if the organization follows through with revamping its training and expectations of its members. The biggest concern however is will an organization of such corporate standing put effort into making these improvements?
Retention of effective teachers in schools, particularly urban public schools, yield positive results both monetarily and academically. Teacher turnover occurs at a 50% higher rate in urban schools. The cost of teacher turnover costs the nation over 7 billion dollars a year (“High Teacher Turnover Rates are a Big Problem for America’s Public Schools,” n.d.). In this link, articles and information are summarized to examine the impact of retaining highly effective teachers, what makes effective teachers, and strategies that may increase teacher retention in urban schools. Teacher retention can be measured, both monetarily (dollars spent in filling the position), and psychologically (the disruption that a leaving teacher causes to students and grade level teams). Research suggests that salary is not a leading indicator of teachers leaving the profession. This information will assist in helping us to better understand the factors that impact teaching retention, the cost of teacher retention, and the benefit that arises from retaining highly effective teachers. Commitment from teachers to remain in the school for many years can lead to an increase in standardized test scores (Varlas, L. (2009). Commitment to the profession can help to reduce the achievement gap in education.
Conclusion and Research Summary:
There is no silver bullet to solve inequality and education in America. Above are three methods to be considered in order to help address the issue from a multi-faceted approach. It has been found that social justice curriculum in elite schools can be beneficial, but also have potential drawbacks such as students’ using the conversation and service opportunities to achieve further success in their own lives rather than addressing the structural issues of oppression and inequality. In addition, programs such as Teach for America do not adequately address the need for quality teachers in low-achieving public schools. Teach for America leads to under qualified teachers working short-term in schools that especially need highly trained and permanent teachers. There is ample research that shows that the problems of teacher retention needs to be addressed in public schools in order to improve schools. By addressing the curriculum of social justice in elite schools, restructuring Teach for America, and further emphasizing and prioritizing teacher retention the educational system of the United States could improve dramatically. Further research suggested includes the direct link between privileged students and programs such as Teach for America, elite schools without any social justice curriculum, and schools with successful teacher retention rates.
Swalwell, K. (2013). “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility”: Privileged Students’ Conceptions of Justice-Oriented Citizenship. Democracy and Education, 21 (1), Article 5. Retieved July 20, 2014, from http://democracyeducationjournal.org/home/vol21/iss1/5
Committing to Social Justice
Introduction:
Schools in the United States need to retain quality teachers in order to decrease inequality and help students succeed around the country. The educational system requires systemic change in addition to individual teachers or small scale changes. In order to effectively decrease inequality within the education system, teacher retention must be improved, programs like Teach for America need to be reexamined, and social justice curriculum within elite schools needs to be increased and improved in order to more authentically inspire future leaders within education to address root causes. Below are three research pages which address the systematic changes suggested. Each research topic is briefly summarized with a link to more information, and concluded with the research summary and suggestions for further research.
Research Summaries:
According to Heilig & Jez (2013) TFA isn’t a terrible organization, but rather the way that Kopp retains corps members and the training she puts in place for them might not be the answer to highly qualified teachers and teaching. Heilig & Jez state that if TFA continues to be a part of the teaching profession than some improvement needs to be put into place. They suggest some key aspects that will help TFA improve such as, training that lasts longer than five weeks, a commitment of five years in the program as well as a requirement of the participants to take professional development courses throughout their commitment. Heilig & Jez also conclude that when schools are hiring, TFA members sho
uld be considered for positions when the pool of candidates is less qualified than the corps members.
TFA could potentially have stronger impacts in education if the organization follows through with revamping its training and expectations of its members. The biggest concern however is will an organization of such corporate standing put effort into making these improvements?
Conclusion and Research Summary:
There is no silver bullet to solve inequality and education in America. Above are three methods to be considered in order to help address the issue from a multi-faceted approach. It has been found that social justice curriculum in elite schools can be beneficial, but also have potential drawbacks such as students’ using the conversation and service opportunities to achieve further success in their own lives rather than addressing the structural issues of oppression and inequality. In addition, programs such as Teach for America do not adequately address the need for quality teachers in low-achieving public schools. Teach for America leads to under qualified teachers working short-term in schools that especially need highly trained and permanent teachers. There is ample research that shows that the problems of teacher retention needs to be addressed in public schools in order to improve schools. By addressing the curriculum of social justice in elite schools, restructuring Teach for America, and further emphasizing and prioritizing teacher retention the educational system of the United States could improve dramatically. Further research suggested includes the direct link between privileged students and programs such as Teach for America, elite schools without any social justice curriculum, and schools with successful teacher retention rates.
Bibliography:
Heilig J. & Jez S. (2013). Teach for America: A Return to the Evidence. (n.d.). National Education Policy Center. Retrieved July 18, 2014,from __http://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/teach-for-america-return__
High Teacher Turnover Rates are a Big Problem for America’s Public Schools. (n.d.). Forbes. Retrieved July 22, 2014, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2011/03/08/high-teacher-turnover-rates-are-a-big-problem-for-americas-public-schools/
Swalwell, K. (2013). “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility”: Privileged Students’ Conceptions of Justice-Oriented Citizenship. Democracy and Education, 21 (1), Article 5. Retieved July 20, 2014, from http://democracyeducationjournal.org/home/vol21/iss1/5